She Wears Short Skirts, I Wear Shakos: Taylor Swift’s Marching Band Aesthetics

Across her discography, Taylor Swift draws on what I call “marching band aesthetics,” which incorporate both gameday imagery and sounds, including uniforms, winds, drumlines, and cheers. Despite this consistency of marching bands in Taylor Swift’s brand, her music does not neatly translate musically or socially to being played by a marching band itself. Her characteristic one and two note melodies, emotional bridges, and lyrical strength are often lost in adaptation by the marching band medium. I argue that collegiate marching band performances of Taylor Swift’s music, when successfully executed, honor both music by women and women’s participatory knowledge as fans.